Cherry Pie Crumble Bars

What makes our Cherry Pie Crumble Bars wicked good? A sumptuous homemade cherry pie filling made with plenty of fresh picked tart cherries as well as a crumble pastry with just the right salty-sweet and buttery richness you would expect in a darn good tart cherry pie. Did we mention easy? Yes, this recipe is incredibly easy. What’s not to love?

Ingredients

• For the Crust & Crumble Top Pastry
• 3½ cups  unbleached all-purpose flour, such as Gold Medal®
• 1¼ cups  granulated organic cane sugar, such as Zulka®
• 1¼ teaspoons  baking powder
• ¾ to 1 teaspoon  kosher salt, or ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1¼ cups (2½ sticks) unsalted butter, chilled & cut into bits
• 2 large egg yolks , lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons  pure vanilla extract, such as Nielsen-Massey®
• ½ teaspoon  pure almond extract, such as Nielsen-Massey®
• Shortening, to prepare pan, such as organic palm by Spectrum®
• For the Tart Cherry Pie Filling
• 4 cups (2 pints/1080 grams) Homemade Tart Cherry Pie Filling, by Wicked Good Kitchen™
• Special Supplies
• Parchment paper, for lining baking pan

Preparation

Arrange oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 375ºF. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch metal baking pan with shortening.  Line pan with baking parchment so there is an overhang. Do this by measuring parchment 4 inches in length additionally at each side of pan. This will allow 2 inches of coverage on each end once folded and tucked in. Lightly grease parchment paper. This will create “handles” which will help removing bars from pan and to transfer to cutting board to cut into even bars after chilling.

Prepare the Crust & Crumble Top Pastry: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until well combined. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal with small pea-sized pieces of butter. (Alternatively, process in your food processor until mixture is crumbly.) In a small bowl, whisk extracts into beaten egg yolks using a fork. With a fork, gently toss into flour mixture until moistened and dough starts to hold together. Continue to toss and blend gently with fingertips until well combined yet taking care not to overwork the dough.

Remove 2 generous cups of the crumb mixture and set aside for the topping in a small bowl. Press remaining dough evenly into prepared baking pan. Spoon Tart Cherry Pie Filling into pan on top of dough and spread evenly with rubber spatula; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

Bake in preheated oven until topping is golden brown and filling is cooked through and bubbly, about 55 minutes. To prevent over-browning of topping, cover with sheet of aluminum foil during last 20 minutes of baking. Remove foil and carefully transfer to wire rack to cool completely before cutting into squares. See Tips below for cutting into even squares.

To Serve Bars: Serve at room temperature, chilled or slightly warmed in microwave oven. If desired, serve warm with fresh whipped cream or a la mode with vanilla ice cream.

Notes

Tips:

For even cut squares, cool bars for 1 hour on wire rack. Then, chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Remove from pan using folded parchment paper at sides of pan as “handles”. Transfer to large cutting board. Carefully cut into even squares using a ruler as a guide with a sharp chef’s knife peeling away parchment paper as you go.

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

For Gluten-Free Option: Substitute 3½ cups (448 grams) Cup4Cup (C4C) Gluten-Free Flour, available at Williams-Sonoma, or your favorite gluten-free flour blend measured cup for cup or by grams in place of the all-purpose wheat flour called for in the recipe.